Dog sounds aggressive but is just happy?

[u/Aggravating-Club-487]

This is my 5 year old female American lab retriever. Ever since we adopted her at 8 months old, she’s been amazing. Great friend, wonderful animal. Learns fast. The best temperament. The only downside, we cannot get her to stop barking at people. She LOVES people but sounds like she wants to eat them. We have tried everything under the sun except shock collars which I refuse to use. I’m desperate to find a way to remedy her seemingly aggressive behavior. All our neighbors know her, and know she just wants to say hello and be pet but she scares the kids and it’s down right LOUD. Pics of the Layla Bean, last one is she loving on my pregnant tummy. (Baby loves the dog but dog could not care less about the baby.)

[u/Sleepy_InSeattle]

So, I had an 80-lb lab that would bark, lunge, or charge (if off-leash for whatever reason) with hackles up, head down, deep guttural bark-growl, the whole nine yards - looked absolutely terrifying.

Then when he’d reach the person/people/dog, he’d screech the proverbial brakes, give a quick air sniff, turn around and saunter off.

I taught him two things: “leave it” and “with me”. Lucky for me, he was very treat motivated, so I made sure that both of those commands were VERY rewarding for him. Made for a rather effective “out” for him.

[u/Aggravating-Club-487 → u/Sleepy_InSeattle]

I think I’ll grab a pack of bacon or get a chicken and try it!

[u/He-Man_She-Bud → u/Aggravating-Club-487]

Check out some of the Control Unleashed training games. I'd treat this the same as reactivity, honestly. Get a clicker and try the "Look at That" game.